IPL 2026: LSG wins toss, puts KKR to bat first at Eden Gardens
Kolkata, April 9
Lucknow Super Giants have asked Kolkata Knight Riders to bat first in match 15 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
The Rishabh Pant-led LSG are coming after a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last game, whereas Ajinkya Rahane's KKR will be hopeful of their first win of the season.
Speaking at the toss, DC skipper Pant said, "I think [we are] looking to bowl first. We want to put opposition at the back. As I said before, we trust our bowlers enough that they might do a good job for us. (How significant was that win?) We feel, you know, victory definitely adds to the atmosphere of the team. We always talk about being positive, having that intent at the same time. When you win, I think when people see all that is coming together, really happy for that. We're playing with the same team. No change for us."
KKR skipper Rahane informed that Varun Chakaravarthy is still recovering from his injury, whereas Sunil Narine has recovered and will feature in today's home fixture.
"We wanted to bowl. (I'm thinking back to the previous game, actually, that's why I asked that) That match didn't get over, so you never know. Just one change - Sunil comes in place of Blessing, Varun is still recovering from his hand injury. When he (Green) is allowed to bowl, we will see him, the combination gets better, so Rovman Powell plays, when Cam Green bowls, then we have an extra bowler," said Rahane after the toss.
Cameron Green was bowling during the practice session before the match and is expected to bowl in this match.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact subs - Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert
Lucknow Super Giants Impact subs - Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmad, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting to see Sunil Narine back for KKR. His experience could be crucial, especially in the middle overs. But KKR's batting still looks a bit shaky. Hope Rinku Singh fires today!
KKR really needs this win. Three losses in a row would be a disaster for team morale. Rahane needs to lead from the front with the bat. The Eden Gardens crowd will be behind them!
LSG's playing XI looks very balanced. Strong top order with Marsh and Markram, and Pant in devastating form. But I'm a bit worried about the Indian pace backup after Shami and Avesh.
Respectfully, I think KKR's team selection has been confusing. So many all-rounders but no clear specialist bowler except maybe Saini. The impact sub strategy will be key tonight.
Excited to see young Angkrish Raghuvanshi keeping wickets! He's a talented batter. Hope he gets a good score today. The future of Indian cricket looks bright with these youngsters in IPL. 🇮🇳
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